Light
by 0equilibrium0
Summary: Touya's never been very expressive, so when he starts to talk, Jin listens. Indefinite hiatus
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own _Yu Yu Hakusho._

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Jin pulled his legs up off the ground and caught his ki in the wind circling him. _There! He shouldn't be able to sense me now…_ He grinned impishly. Touya was just standing in the yard, not doing anything, seemingly enjoying the sunlight. _Perfect!_

He slowly drifted up to him, being careful to stay behind the hyper-aware Ice Master. Cautiously, Jin reached out, then stopped. _One… two… three… now!_ He abruptly brought his hands down over Touya's eyes. "Gue—" Touya grabbed Jin's wrists and threw him forward. Jin slammed into the newly frozen ground, which effectively knocked him breathless. He felt the beginning of an ice spire grow into his back before he heard Touya gasp in recognition.

"Jin…I'm sorry…" He hastily pulled the rather shocked shinobi to his feet. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "If I hadn't recognized you I, I would have… killed you. I'm sorry." He still hadn't released Jin's wrist.

"S'okay. Guess I shouldn't have snuck up on ya like that, huh? But didn't anyone do that to you when you were a kid?" Jin crossed his legs, one hand resting on his ankles, the other held in front of him. Touya's touch was cold, but not unpleasant.

"I've never told you why I became a shinobi." Touya suddenly seemed to find the ground between his feet very interesting. "… Would you like to know?" The question was so soft, so hesitant, that Jin wasn't sure Touya had spoken at all. He answered nonetheless.

"Sure!" But Jin's usual exuberance seemed somehow out of place. Touya, usually so stoic, looked almost sad.

"Until I met Sensei, I had little to no control over my power. When I walked into a room, the temperature dropped twenty, sometimes thirty degrees. That might have endeared me to some, if I hadn't lived in a constantly frozen tundra. My parents abandoned me, for fear of freezing to death, I assume. Everyone looked at me so guiltily, it was impossible to tell who my parents were. They all seemed to feel responsible for the spawning of the monster.

"They banished me, eventually. I had reached full maturity, and whatever obligation they may have had to take care of me ended then." Touya sat down slowly, unconsciously pulling Jin down with him. "I wandered aimlessly for… perhaps a decade, trying only to survive. It was then that I met Sensei.

"He was old, dying, and looking for a successor. I had stumbled, weak and starving, upon the man who would change my life." Touya suddenly looked at his hand, as if noticing for the first time that it was wrapped around Jin's wrist. He stared at it for a moment, before deciding it was fine where it was. "He took me in and showed me the way of the Ice Master. He taught me everything I know, but nowhere near everything he did.

"He was killed in his sleep by a group of bandits. By the time I awoke, he was already dead. I murdered the bandits and destroyed a large portion of our small home in the process.

"I had nothing left. I had no home to return to, and the only person who had ever cared about me was gone.

"Alone and desolate, with emptiness in my heart and blood on my hands, the shinobi found me. I was a hollow shell of my former self. I had been happy with Sensei. That happiness was as dead as he was. The shinobi leader saw that and exploited it." Touya traced a pattern in the grass with his free hand. Jin was uncharacteristically silent, sitting calmly despite the energy burning through him.

"I became an exemplary shinobi. I followed orders without question. I lived for the darkness. Until, that is, an unexpected ray of light blew into my life." Touya looked at Jin, and almost smiled. "You should know the rest of the story." He stood, unwillingly releasing Jin's hand. Jin popped to his feet with him. Touya turned to walk into the house when Jin, a bit cautiously, grabbed his arm. "Yes?" Touya didn't turn, the distance in his voice returning.

"…Where're ya goin'?" It wasn't the question Jin had meant to ask, not at all, but the original question suddenly seemed too intrusive.

"Inside." Touya shook off the Wind Master's hand and continued walking.

Jin unexpectedly felt the ground beneath his feet and realized he'd stopped hovering. _Am I… the ray of light?_

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_Why did I tell him that? It isn't any of his business, so why did I tell him? _Touya frowned out his window, stare fixed on the dazed Jin. He was standing where Touya had left him, under a large oak tree. His feet, shockingly enough, were actually touching the grass. _Either he's surprised or depressed. Whichever it is, I'm sure he'll get over it soon. Of course he will. He's Jin. _

But Touya couldn't shake the sense of responsibility he felt for Jin's drooping ears.

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So whadja think? Huh? Huh? Did you like it? This is meant to be a two-shot, but it might end up being longer. Please review! ChiCho out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two! Yippee!

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Jin slumped against the oak. The rough bark scraped his back as he slid down it. His butt hit the dirt with a soft _thump_. He rested his forearms on his knees, bowed his head. _I… I can't be his 'ray of light'. I can't. I'm as dark as he is. I've done things, so many things, that I'm not proud of. How could I be anyone's light?_

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"He looks so sad…" Touya murmured. "What's he thinking…?" He shook his head. _If he wants to mope, it's not any of my business._ But he still felt guilty. He closed his eyes and used a visualization technique that had worked countless times before: He imagined all of his guilt gathered up in a glass bottle. The bottle, and its contents, froze, then shattered. Touya opened his eyes. _It worked,_ he thought, lying to himself unconvincingly.

Touya opened the door and stepped out, promptly walking headfirst into Chu. "Ugh! Oh, hello. I wasn't paying attention. Sorry." He'd left a layer of goose bumps.

Chu shivered. "Wass wrong with you? You always pay attention." He frowned down at Touya suspiciously. Touya tried to leave. Chu stopped him by sitting down, directly blocking his path. "Ya know, sometimes, when a bloke's got a probl'm, it helps to tell a friend." He propped his long legs against the far wall and looked at Touya patiently.

"Chu… please just let me through. I'm a little tired, that's all. If I have a glass of water, read for a while, maybe take a nap, I'll be fine. Really." Touya did look tired. But more than that, he looked pleading, nostalgic, and sad.

"Well…" Chu took to his feet unsteadily. "Mate, I think yer lyin' to me, but yer business is none of mine." He stood to the side and gestured grandly down the short hallway.

"Thanks."

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Suzuka was tinkering with the refrigerator. Touya didn't ask.

He turned on the sink but didn't get a cup. He just stood there, watching the flow of hot water. Slowly, slowly, he reached out to put his palm under the stream. His hand reddened, then turned white. A small part of his brain registered the pain, but the rest was preoccupied with the water.

The world tilted and blurred gray. Just as the floor came up to greet him, everything in Touya's mind turned black.

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Cliffhanger! What's wrong with Touya? Obviously no longer a two-shot. Sorry that this chappie's shorter than the first one. Until next time, ChiCho out!


	3. Chapter 3

Near instant updation! Woo hoo!

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Touya came to slowly. He was lying on his side, in his own bed, facing the window. His right hand was held in a warm, calloused one. He opened his eyes.

Jin had pulled up a chair between Touya's bed and the window. He was asleep, slumped forward onto the bed, holding Touya's hand.

_How long was I out? _Touya wondered, sitting up. _It was a few minutes till noon last time I checked, right before I talked to Chu. _He turned to face the clock, being careful to not wake Jin. The glowing green numbers said 01:21. _About an hour and a half, then. That's not too lo—wait. _He looked back. _01:21 am._

_It's almost one thirty in the morning…That explains why Jin's asleep. What happened? _Touya frowned.

_I told Jin my life story, why still unknown, and went inside. I watched him for a little while from the window. I walked into the hallway, bumped into Chu. We talked for a bit. What did we talk about? He seemed… worried. About me? Maybe. Then I… I don't remember._ Touya bit his lip. He racked his brain, tried to focus on the missing conversation. He found something radically different.

It was a blurred image, like something half-remembered. He saw a male youkai, tall and impossibly thin. A small, bulbous, entirely bald head sat on a long neck and narrow shoulders. The eyes took up most of the face. They were large, with no iris. A speck of black sat in the center of each. His skin was white, like fresh-fallen snow. Or a corpse. His only color was his clothing. It was a sorcerers robe, rust brown, like dried blood. Long, thin fingers peered from the sleeves.

_What… am I seeing? _The background seemed familiar. Touya suddenly realized why. "That's here." He muttered.

The creature turned and looked at the house. A menacing fever ran down Touya's spine. He shot from the bed, Jin forgotten. He vaulted the windowsill and hit the ground running. He made a sharp left around a tree, startling a roosting flock of birds. And suddenly _he_ became clear. The soft edges sharpened as he entered Touya's line of vision. Bare feet skidded silently as Touya came to a stop.

"Who are you?" Touya was immensely glad that his usual aloof tone was present in the cold, flat question.

When the youkai spoke, his long fangs twitched slightly. They reached to his collarbone. He had no ears aside from small dents on the side of his head. "I am Ari."

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"Where'd he go?" Jin looked frantically out the window. He leaped to the ground, stopped about a foot from the grass and raced in the direction of Touya's ki.

He was alone, but there were strong enough traces of an unfamiliar youki to convince Jin that it was a new state. "Touya! What's goin' on?" Touya turned slowly toward Jin. There were black, hand-shaped scorch marks on either side of his pale face.

"Touya!" Jin yelled, catching him as he fell.

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"Tell me again what happened." Suzuka said, looking worriedly at Touya.

"When I woke up, I saw something. I could tell that it was outside. I felt an incredibly spiteful aura, so I went out to investigate and found Ari. I asked him who he was. He told me, and then said that I would help him achieve his goal whether I wanted to or not. I started to ask what he meant when I suddenly couldn't move. He said that there was only one thing standing between him and total power and that I would help destroy it. I don't remember what happened next, only a terrible burning sensation. When I regained consciousness, I was very weak. Jin arrived and asked what was going on. I collapsed. Jin carried me back." Touya looked at Suzuka tiredly.

Chu recognized the exhausted expression. "Can't this wait till mornin'?" Suzuka looked from Chu to Touya for a moment. He sighed.

"Fine. Jin, keep an eye on him."

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Another cliffhanger! Who is Ari? What did he do to Touya? Tune in next time! ChiCho out!


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